In a message dated 6/7/2002 5:08:33 AM Central Daylight Time,
katesouthworth@gloriousninth.com writes:


> Surely, art is, and always has been, about understanding our contemporary
> world.

Genius=understanding, 2000=contemporary world.

Art factually has usually been an enforced half-measure, a codified
delimitation of what counts as understanding and as our contemporary world.
This not merely in the sense of what art rich people buy, or rich people sell
to poor people, but in the sense of what will get you
burnt/killed/hung/drawn-and-quartered/crucified/tortured, what science is,
what language the Bible is printed in if at all, advertising looks and chops
a must, no big hair.

One good example is religion. Religion is a media system, an art-behavioral
system, an expressive order with rules, rewards, enforcers, and penalties.

Most art that later turns out to be "good" was originally hated, reviled,
illegal, or tracked down and routed out. (Bad props to Brainfuck's
speechwriters for praising "rout" over "root." Edward Bernays must be
jerking off in his coffin.) Examples abound, or as Benjamin Walter said
"There is no document of civilization which is not at the same time a
document of barbarism"
http://xroads.virginia.edu/~MA99/kidd/resume/benjamin.html


Art is often, perhaps most commonly in the last 2k years (because many do not
desire the painful consequences of heresy) an accepted, even loved,
affirmative requirement. I.e. do art this way, go to this church, pray this
way, love X painting and Y poetry.

I find the archetype of this over the last 2k years to be the fight of early
Christians against the Roman Religion (which the xtians eventually won). In
this case, Christians were tolerated (they were good employees, rather
literate) and allowed to exist and do their Christian worship as long as they
also performed the rituals of Rome which were prescribed by the State. Sort
of a "don't tell don't ask" policy.

Christianity really achieved its modern institutional form only after many
Christians (the martyrs) refused to perform the Roman state's rituals and
were duly thrown to the lions or hacked apart in various ways for fun and
recreation.

"The blood of the martyrs are the seeds of the Church" as has been said. Art
is and always has been church, blood, and martyrs (among other things) often
in shifting roles as can be visualized for today's modern world via Lisa
Jevbratt's data-mingling scenario which can be viewed at
http://www.artsconnected.org/millennialmuseum/displayitem.cfm?item)

BTB, Jevbratt likes NN, NN likes Salvaggio, Salvaggio likes me, and I like
Jevbratt. And singing in their glory move!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/arts/features/poems/transcripts.shtml

Also, praps in part to Curt re the text-value of G2K, dig your pickers into
this site by Filips Baumanis: http://www.albalux.com/g2k/g2k.alpha-mx.html

Blowing bubbles in the Hot Millennium,

Max Herman
genius2000.net

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